Donatella Bianchi, number one of the WWF Italy, wrote a letter to the Regions to address the wolf issue in our country. According to the president, these are the entities that have the main institutional responsibilities for build in Italy the right coexistence between large predators and human activities. The main hope of the association is to postpone the approval of the Wolf conservation and management plan, trying to save the animal and the breeders at the same time. Among other things, Bianchi stressed that most of the measures are already included in the new rural development plans that span the 2014-2020 period.
Tomorrow, Wednesday 17 February 2016, will be that of the convocation of the table of the National Strategy for Biodiversity with the Regions and we will talk about the plan that concerns the wolf itself, which was prepared together with the Italian Zoological Union and the support of ISPRA. The Ministry of the Environment intends to propose exceptions to the Regions from the ban on the killing of these animals, authorizing the legal killing of about 60 wolves every year.
WWF Italy called this proposal a "dangerous shortcut" and in recent days it had turned to the Ministry to ask cancellation of the plan, remembering that it is a protected species. There is also a petition launched seven days ago and which has collected more than 25 thousand signatures to say no to legal killing. The appeal also includes alternative actions capable of solving the problem and guaranteeing peaceful coexistence on the territory. As explained by the WWF, the wolf population in Italy is increasing, with 1500 specimens threatened by poaching and anthropogenic causes of mortality, without forgetting the hybridization with wandering dogs.
Killing is considered a temporary and illusory choice for reduce the damage caused to animal husbandry, but not able to placate the discontent of the breeders. President Bianchi pointed out how some studies have shown that the killing deconstruct the herds and they increase the dispersion of wolves, thus favoring predation on domestic livestock. The goal of the environmental association is to defend extensive animal husbandry and to guarantee rapid and adequate compensation for damages.
At the same time, the conservation of the wolf in our country is severely tested by poaching and stray animals. WWF Italy therefore hopes that the draft of the new national plan will be improved with a more in-depth debate and with longer times than those granted so far by the Ministry of the Environment, involving agricultural associations and the scientific world.